I may be an expatriate St. Louisan, but I'm a Cardinal Fan Forever. Mostly, I write haiku recaps of every game. Occasionally, I write longer stuff with pictures.

All Star Fanfest

I had the thrill of attending all the all-star festivities in St. Louis and I’m still recovering. I have to say I’ve been suffering from PASD – post-all-star-depression. The experience exceeded my expectations and was well worth the money. As I have a lot of pictures to share, I will write separate entries about the events I attended.

After flying in on Friday night, I ventured downtown on Saturday morning to meet some friends at the All Star Fanfest at the convention center. This was a huge event with plenty to see and do, especially for young kids. It was also a great chance to get free autographs from many players, including hall of famers.

The highlight for me was getting Jack Clark’s autograph. I had a big crush on Jack when I was in junior high, and even though he kinda resembles Tony Soprano these days, he’s still sexy. I waited in line about 90 minutes to get a signed photo and he was very friendly and asked if I wanted him to write “The Ripper” on it. But of course!

I also enjoyed checking out the exhibits from the Hall of Fame. There were jerseys from Babe Ruth, Stan Musial, George Brett, Nolan Ryan and many other greats, and a lot of other memorabilia. Many big trophies were also on display including world series trophies.

Vendors were on hand. The most amusing item I saw was this leather vest that belonged to Willie Stargell. The tag said “Possible DNA!”

Kids could compete in batting cages, pitching and base running contests, get their photo on a baseball card, call a game, and much more.

The longest autograph line I saw on Saturday was for Rollie Fingers. He’s still got that trademark handlebar mustache.

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